an effective feminist critique
I consider feminism to be the ideal that women are equal to men. This allows of course for the fact that women have their own strengths and weaknesses just as men do. It means that women should be treated no worse than men are treated, they should not be treated as if they are less intelligent or less hard-working or as if they are below men. Women should be believed when they say something happened just as men would be believed and they should be treated as human beings who have feelings and cares just like any other person, man or woman. Women should also be treated with the same respect given to any man.
"Thelma and Louise" is an effective feminist critique because it upholds feminist ideals and points out the flaws in society that have caused feminist ideals to form. It points out the fact that women are not respected by the way Daryl treats Thelma and shows that women have feelings as Thelma and Louise get angrier about the way they are being treated and scared about the police catching them. A very good job is done of pointing out the fact that women are not believed when they say something happened like men are by the fact that Louise is afraid to go to the police after shooting Thelma's would-be rapist. Even later in the movie Thelma comments that they would have just assumed she was asking for it because she was dancing with the man all night, something that never would have been assumed were a man in her position. Thelma and Louise fight for respect for women when they lure the trucker who has been following them and making innuendos off the road. Then when they tell him to apologize for disrespecting them so much and he refuses they blow up his truck, a very clear declaration that women deserve respect just as much as men.